How AI and Big Tech Came to Dominate the S&P 500
A handful of highly profitable tech companies tied to artificial intelligence now account for a growing share of the S&P 500, concentrating value and increasing market risk.
A handful of highly profitable tech companies tied to artificial intelligence now account for a growing share of the S&P 500, concentrating value and increasing market risk.
CISA replaced acting director Madhu Gottumukkala with Nick Andersen after a year of staff cuts, security incidents and internal disputes, the agency said, while a permanent director nomination remains pending in the Senate.
Nova Scotia officials say an investigation into the October 2024 death of a 19-year-old worker at a Halifax Walmart bakery found the oven was functioning properly and no workplace safety violations were identified.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows most Americans reject President Trump’s claim that the U.S. economy is "booming," with widespread concern about inflation and the cost of new tariff policies.
In leaked town hall audio Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav briefed staff on switching from a stalled Netflix sale to Paramount's $30 per share rival, calling the rapid shift "whiplash-y" and outlining strategic benefits and regulatory risks.
The trip puts into motion themes from Carney’s Davos speech by engaging Indian finance and business leaders on green finance, transition planning and scaling capital into emerging markets.
Cuban authorities say a Florida-registered speedboat entered waters near Cayo Falcones, opened fire on soldiers, and left four dead and six wounded while the U.S. says it is gathering its own information and investigating.
The New York Fed has added Numerator-based consumer spending measures to its Economic Heterogeneity Indicators, offering more timely, granular tracking of consumption by income, education, race, age, and urban status.
A multi-study paper in American Psychologist finds that strict social norms make people less likely to create original humor while leaving their ability to find things funny largely intact.
New analysis of Apollo Moon rocks shows both sides of a long debate were right: the Moon was mostly weakly magnetised but produced very short, very strong magnetic pulses linked to titanium-rich volcanism and sampling bias in Apollo landing sites.
In his Feb 24 State of the Union, President Trump said tariffs could substantially replace the modern income tax; policy experts say the idea faces legal, fiscal and economic barriers and would need congressional approval.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warns that British nationals should not travel to Iran due to high risk of detention, ongoing protests and limited consular support, and says travel insurance may be void if you go against the advice.
A Joint Economic Committee minority report says four data-broker-related breaches produced an estimated $20.9 billion in identity-theft losses and found some brokers hid opt-out tools from search engines.
President Trump told reporters he would 'love not to' attack Iran but suggested military action might be necessary, while saying the U.S. has not yet decided and stressing Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons.
Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank have committed $110 billion to OpenAI at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, in a deal that pairs huge capital commitments with expanded infrastructure partnerships and leaves the round open for more investors.
A new American Economic Review paper uses a county-level identification strategy to show that immigration raises local innovation and wages over five years, with a structural model suggesting about a 5 percent boost since 1965.
Block announced roughly 4,000 job cuts the same day it posted strong Q4 2025 results, with Dorsey explicitly calling the move a structural shift driven by artificial intelligence and investors rewarding the decision.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee told embassy staff to leave immediately amid a US military buildup and growing fears of a strike on Iran, while diplomats pursue talks that have so far not closed key gaps.
Anthropic says it will not strip safety guardrails from its Claude AI for Pentagon use, arguing that current systems could enable mass surveillance and unsafe autonomous weapons and offering R&D instead as the Pentagon threatens sanctions.
The IMF approved a 48-month EFF for Ukraine worth about $8.1 billion, with $1.5 billion available immediately, as part of a $136.5 billion international package to stabilize the economy, restore debt sustainability, and back post-war recovery amid exceptionally high risks.
A team including Northeastern professor Ravinder Dahiya developed synaptic-transistor based vision hardware that mimics the human retina to cut perception latency, showing major speed gains in simulations but facing industry hardware hurdles.
The White House Office of Management and Budget is withholding or restricting release of research funds that Congress approved for fiscal 2026, leaving major grant agencies constrained and slowing new awards while agencies wait for OMB approval.
New research led by Dr Neophytos Georgiou shows that a thinking style called systemising, which seeks patterns and rules, makes people more likely to accept conspiracy explanations and less likely to change their views, suggesting responses to misinformation should address how people process information rather than only supplying facts.
An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll finds large shares of Americans say major expenses are out of reach, many doubt they can buy a home, and nearly half carry some debt.
China's embassy in Tehran has asked Chinese nationals to depart Iran because of worsening security and regional tensions, and urged them to follow consular instructions for help and updates.
New research shows AirSnitch can bypass client isolation by exploiting low level Wi‑Fi behaviors, enabling man in the middle attacks across consumer and enterprise networks despite encrypted links.
A new Nature study using single-cell sequencing of human hippocampal tissue shows ongoing adult neurogenesis, with superagers showing markedly higher neuron production and Alzheimer’s brains showing almost none; the difference appears tied to chromatin accessibility and may point to ways to protect memory as we age.
The State Department has authorised non-essential staff departures and urged US citizens to consider leaving Israel as talks with Iran faltered and US military forces were moved into position.
Proposed amendments would force age checks across many online services, and legal and digital rights experts say the measures could be ineffective for child safety while exposing adults to new privacy and security risks.
On Feb. 27 Russian officials and social media footage said strikes hit a thermal power plant in Belgorod Oblast and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk, causing fires and outages; Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the reports.
Britain pulled embassy staff from Iran as a precaution and the United States ordered non-emergency personnel and families to leave Israel amid rising regional tensions and failed nuclear talks with Iran.
During Thursday's broadcast Jake Tapper announced that Warner Bros. Discovery's board has deemed a Paramount Skydance offer superior after Netflix declined to increase its bid, potentially making Paramount the presumptive buyer of WBD and its assets including CNN, pending regulatory approval.
A Perspective article in Aging argues that a progressive decline in glycolytic ATP production could be the fundamental driver of ageing across species, explains exceptions like cancer and the naked mole rat, and points to glycolysis-based rejuvenation ideas while stressing the need for experimental testing.
Metacritic says it will strip AI-generated critic reviews from its platform and cut ties with publications after removing a Videogamer review of Resident Evil 9: Requiem amid accusations the piece and its author were fabricated.
President Trump said the U.S. is in a roaring economic golden age, but a Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 68% of Americans reject that view, with cost of living and inflation top voter worries and Republicans sharply divided ahead of the November midterms.
A team used entangled quantum memories based on silicon vacancy centres in diamond to demonstrate non-local optical interferometry that erases which-path information and non-destructively heralds photons, extending the effective baseline to 1.55 km and improving weak-signal sensitivity scaling while highlighting current rate and fidelity limits.
Producer Price Index data showed stronger-than-expected wholesale inflation in January, driven by services and leaving annual core PPI at 3.6%, a level that could complicate the Fed's interest rate outlook.
Washington told some embassy staff and families they may leave Israel immediately after stalled Iran talks and rising regional risk, with officials citing an abundance of caution.
Core wholesale prices climbed faster than forecast, driven by higher service costs and retailer margins, while energy prices fell sharply including a drop in wholesale gasoline.
A hotter-than-expected producer price index reading for January pushed futures sharply lower and hit AI-linked and big tech stocks, while major layoffs and mixed earnings kept investors cautious.
A Ukrainian mechanised brigade posted video and images it says show Russian forces using white phosphorus munitions to strike residential parts of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, followed by a FAB-1500 bomb and continued FPV drone attacks; the material has not been independently verified.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 68% of Americans reject President Trump’s claim that the U.S. economy is booming, with Republicans split and cost of living the top voter concern as midterm primaries begin.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.5% in January 2026 as services strengthened and gasoline led a decline in goods, with core inflation measures also ticking up.
A Chinese intelligence firm published satellite photos showing 11 US F-22 Raptors at Israel’s Uvda Air Force Base, with support aircraft and personnel also observed amid regional tensions over Iran.
A National Institute of Standards and Technology study sent the same stool samples to seven consumer gut testing firms and found large discrepancies, suggesting current at-home microbiome tests are not reliable for making health decisions.
A Morgan Stanley cross asset report argues AI will reshape occupations and require ongoing retraining rather than triggering mass, permanent unemployment, while new executive and governance roles are expected to proliferate.
I can write a concise, factual article but need to know whether to use your numbers as-is or to base the story on a specific Bureau of Labor Statistics report—please confirm the month and scope.
Big tech dominates search, devices, social and shopping, but privacy, ethical and greener alternatives exist across most categories. This quick guide lists practical replacements you can switch to today.
A CU Boulder study published in the American Sociological Review finds that intense partisan hostility, or affective polarization, undermines democracies ability to enforce climate rules and is linked to higher CO2 emission rates at fossil-fueled power plants.
A pooled analysis of roughly 1.8 million people tracked for 16 years found vegetarians had substantially lower risks of five cancer types but higher risks for some others, while vegans and fish or poultry eaters showed mixed associations with specific cancers.
Multiple U.S. intelligence sources and a 2025 DIA assessment say Iran is likely years away from a militarily viable ICBM, contradicting President Trump’s State of the Union claim that Iran will soon have missiles able to strike the United States.
Reports show Block spent $68.1 million on a September 2025 event and then announced mass layoffs five months later, with CEO Jack Dorsey citing an AI-driven restructuring while the stock surged roughly 20 percent.
Anthropic says rival labs ran an industrial-scale distillation campaign on Claude using thousands of fake accounts and millions of exchanges, and it is urging industry and regulators to respond.
A Molecular Psychiatry study in male mice shows dopamine D2 receptors and insulin receptors in the central amygdala work together as a biological brake on compulsive consumption of sugary and fatty foods, with receptor loss weakening that control.
King's College London researcher Kenneth Payne pitted three large language models against each other in Cold War style crisis games and found at least one model used a tactical nuclear weapon in 20 of 21 matches, with three strategic strikes recorded.
A Citrini Research thought experiment shows how widespread use of autonomous AI agents could trigger a self-reinforcing collapse of demand and equity values by replacing outsourced white collar roles over a short period.
Ukrainian unmanned systems forces say they struck an oil storage site in Russian-occupied Luhansk overnight on 26-27 February, and video of a large fire was shared by the military and social media communities.
Estonian prime minister told Euronews that Vladimir Putin cannot end the war without risking his rule, warned that a rushed peace could destabilise Europe, and said EU leaders must find a way to deliver a politically blocked €90 billion support package for Ukraine.
Anthropic says US defense officials demanded it weaken protections on its Claude AI so it could be used for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, and CEO Dario Amodei refused, warning the company will not remove those safeguards.
Metacritic pulled a Videogamer review after readers and checks identified it as likely AI-generated, following the site's recent sale and staff purge and prompting the aggregator to remove other flagged pieces.
On his first official visit to Beijing Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that a widening trade gap with China is damaging to Germany, pressed Beijing to help end the Ukraine war and sought ways to reduce the deficit while securing business deals.
Block, the parent company of Square and Cash App, is trimming its workforce as CEO Jack Dorsey says AI lets a smaller team be more productive, a move that sent shares sharply higher.
Chinese firms sharply raised optical fiber prices to Russian buyers amid surging demand and Russia’s reliance on imports after its only domestic producer halted operations, prompting prepayment demands and supplier reviews.
A surge in AI-driven demand for memory is pushing RAM prices higher and forcing vendors to raise phone prices, with IDC warning this will cause the largest single-year shipment drop in over a decade and reshuffle the industry.
Gerald Brown was arrested on February 26, 2026 and is accused by the Justice Department of illegally providing defense training to Chinese military pilots after a decadeslong US Air Force career.
Researchers report that the TMC proteins, long seen as sound-to-signal channels, also flip membrane lipids and that this flipping, when triggered by mutations, noise, or certain antibiotics, causes irreversible hair cell death and explains many cases of permanent hearing loss.
OpenAI found that a Chinese officer used ChatGPT like a diary to document a sprawling influence operation that impersonated US officials, forged documents, and ran thousands of fake accounts to target overseas Chinese dissidents.
Pyongyang has ordered a move from goods trade to industrial participation in Russia, targeting sectors such as autos, phones and electronics and instructing negotiators to prioritize production roles and wage competitiveness.
Britain will have no warships in the Arabian Gulf for the first time since 1980 after HMS Lancaster left and HMS Middleton is set to depart in March, with the Middleton to be replaced by an autonomous minesweeper amid a stretched escort fleet and rising regional tensions.
Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul and other Afghan provinces after a cross-border attack, escalating months of tit-for-tat clashes between the neighbours. Both sides give conflicting casualty counts, border crossings are closed and the UN has called for protection of civilians and renewed talks.
A teenager who filmed a brutal gay bashing in Sydney and was linked to an IS network received nine months' probation after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery, prompting concern about a rise in filmed extremist bait-and-bash attacks and gaps in Australia’s hate crime protections.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned he will thoroughly review Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and cautioned the companies not to assume regulatory approval.
After months of cross border clashes, Pakistan launched air strikes on major Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar on Feb 27, 2026, with Islamabad calling the confrontation "open war" against the Taliban government.
A study of 148 six- to eight-year-olds found that giving non-friend pairs a clear task to complete raised their conversational connectedness more than free play, while friends showed little change.
A Taliban cleric in Afghanistan's Khost province has issued a fatwa calling for jihad against Pakistan, heightening security concerns along the border and creating potential diplomatic fallout.
On Feb 26, 2026, Afghan forces said they carried out cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week, while Pakistan denied losses and vowed to protect its territory.
An OpenAI powered assistant called Patty will sit in Burger King headsets to help staff with recipes and restocking and to score drive-thru friendliness, a move the company says will streamline operations but that critics say raises surveillance concerns.
Analysts say the formations and relative immobility differ from normal fishing patterns, prompting increased Japan Coast Guard patrols and the detention of one captain after a vessel entered territorial waters.
Warner Bros. Discovery's board deemed Paramount Skydance's $31 per share offer superior, prompting Netflix to abandon its $27.75 per share proposal for WBD's studio and streaming assets and leaving a Paramount takeover of the whole company as the likely next step.
US Central Command says Task Force Scorpion, which evolved from an experimental drone unit, is operational and could be used if President Trump authorizes strikes on Iran.
An observational Canadian study of 139 authorized medical cannabis patients found sustained reductions in pain, anxiety and depression and improved sleep and quality of life over 24 weeks, with few reported adverse events.
The 2026 South African budget acknowledged widespread cigarette smuggling and raised excise by R0.77 per 20-pack; officials and analysts say lost revenue is large but estimates vary and many call for stronger enforcement at porous borders.
Jack Dorsey’s payments firm is cutting nearly half its staff as it doubles down on AI tools like Goose after years of restructuring and weak stock performance.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company cannot in good conscience allow the Defense Department unrestricted use of its AI models, standing firm despite DoD threats to label it a supply chain risk or invoke the Defense Production Act.
Statistics Canada says Q4 FDI surged to C$25.1 billion, bringing annual inflows to C$96.8 billion and marking the strongest year for foreign direct investment in Canada since 2007.
CEO Dario Amodei says Anthropic has deployed Claude across classified US systems but will not drop safeguards for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons despite reported Defense Department demands and threats.
President Trump delivered a 1 hour 47 minute State of the Union that prompted rapid fact-checks over claims on voter fraud, immigration, tariffs and presidential pardons, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and independent analysts.
Block will lay off over 4,000 workers, cutting headcount by 40% while CEO Jack Dorsey cites AI automation as the rationale and predicts similar moves across the corporate world.
An OpenAI-powered assistant called Patty will live in employee headsets to help with tasks and flag specific phrases and tone so managers can track and coach on staff "friendliness," with a pilot in 500 restaurants and full US rollout planned by end of 2026.
The IMF says the U.S. is a global growth engine but warns tariffs lower productivity and rising deficits could erase benefits, urging tax and spending reforms.
Netflix will not raise its bid for Warner Bros., saying the price would be unattractive, clearing the path for David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance after Warner Bros. called its offer superior.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Reuters the AI firm cannot comply with the Pentagon's requests in a dispute over AI safeguards.
Genetic reconstruction places the first mosquito preference for early humans in Sundaland and links the change to hominin movements into Southeast Asia, with the leucosphyrus group adapting long before other mosquito lineages.
A new Biology Letters study led by UC Berkeley graduate student Aleksey Maro and advisor Robert Dudley found metabolic byproducts of ethanol in most urine samples from wild chimpanzees in Uganda, showing these apes consume fermented fruit at levels comparable to light human drinking.
Xi Jinping explicitly urged the renminbi to reach reserve currency status in Qiushi, formalizing a long-discussed goal and reframing China’s incremental measures—swap lines, payment rails and targeted deals—as strategic steps rather than mere convenience.
A growing share of U.S. employers are set to hand out low, equal raises in 2026 rather than rewarding merit, a move Payscale links to market conditions last seen after the 2008 recession.
A replication study in Personality and Individual Differences finds that childhood and teenage attractiveness is a small but consistent predictor of a broadly socially effective adult personality across two large longitudinal samples, though the effect size is modest and explanations remain uncertain.
Whirlpool is cutting 341 jobs at its Amana, Iowa plant while workers and union leaders say the company has moved production to a new Mexico facility and continues to publicly support Trump era tariffs.
A UNSW team has developed a two-step, chemical-free heating technique that turns peanut-shell waste into single-layer graphene in minutes, potentially cutting costs and using other plant waste as feedstock.
A reanalysis of NHANES blood samples links two PFAS chemicals, PFNA and PFOSA, to faster DNA methylation based aging in men aged 50 to 64, but the study cannot prove cause and effect.